Posted by Toby on June 11, 1999, at 12:14:58
In reply to Questions for Doctors... (Toby? Dr Bob?), posted by Racer on June 8, 1999, at 21:32:23
Hello, Ms. Racer...
I remember we talked about your difficulty finding a new doctor because you live in a remote area and also due to finances the MHC is the only thing available to you. I have forgotten, however, whether your MHC offers individual or group therapy (group is sometimes less costly than individual) and it would appear you may derive more benefit from some well-informed therapy than from these ineffective medications. Nevertheless, to answer the question about multiple medications: yes, frequently treatment-resistant depression is treated with 2 or more medications at once. And in some cases, 2 or more antidepressants plus a mood stabilizer and possibly even adding Buspar (an antianxiety med) to boost the effects of the antidepressant. Monotherapy is the ideal, but this is not an ideal world and depression does not always respond in neat, predictable ways and contrary to the pharmaceutical company drug studies, does not always (or even frequently) respond to one medication the first time around.
It's been awhile since I looked at what you responded to in the past, but I wonder if it might be reasonable to try that medication again(even if it quits working, sometimes being off it awhile and then returning to it amkes it work again) and then maximizing the dose as much as possible. If you have tried that without success, there are other meds besides Effexor and Serzone, like Remeron up to 60 mg (or more) per day, Wellbutrin, Celexa, MAOI's, adding Lithium, thyroid replacement (making the lab levels of T4 to be 150% of normal), estrogen, and bright light therapy. If you have Medicaid, you might want to check on getting a bright light box you can use at home each morning.
poster:Toby
thread:7192
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990601/msgs/7283.html